Topic Contents:

Replacement therapy is a treatment that replaces something
that's missing or not working well in your body. People with
von Willebrand's disease don't have von Willebrand
factor, or it doesn't work well enough to help clot their blood. So shots
(injections) of
plasma and clotting factor VIII plus von Willebrand
factor can be used as replacement therapy.

Replacement therapy injections (also called infusions) may be used with people who:

Do not respond to desmopressin.

Cannot tolerate desmopressin.

Have severe type 2 or type 3 von Willebrand's disease.

Have severe bleeding, from an injury or an unknown cause.

You may get this medicine in a hospital or take it at home. Patients often learn to inject
themselves at home, but a doctor or nurse can give the shots too.

Plasma is usually taken from blood donations. In the United States,
donated blood is carefully screened. Blood with any viruses, such as the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or
viral hepatitis B, is not used. The chance of getting
one of these viruses from plasma is extremely low. Plasma is screened and treated for viruses.

Replacement therapy doesn't always work well, because the body may stop
the newly introduced von Willebrand factor from working.

Replacement therapy has changed over the years for von Willebrand's disease. Cryoprecipitate, which is a concentrated frozen plasma, is no longer used.

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Related Articles

Von Willebrand's Disease - Symptoms
Symptoms of mild von Willebrand's disease include: Symptoms of more severe cases of von Willebrand's disease include those listed above and: The severity of symptoms of von Willebrand's disease can vary greatly, even within the same family.

Von Willebrand's Disease - Exams And Tests
Tests for von Willebrand's disease may measure: Early diagnosis of mild von Willebrand's disease allows doctors to know when you may need special treatment in order to help prevent severe bleeding problems.

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